[gallery size="full" td_select_gallery_slide="slide" td_gallery_title_input="At least 22 killed in suicide attack at Ariana Grande concert in Britain" ids="147203,147204,147205,147206,147207,147208"] MANCHESTER, ENGLAND — At least 22 people, including some children, were killed and 59 wounded when a suicide bomber struck as thousands of fans streamed out of a concert by US singer Ariana Grande in the English city of Manchester on Monday. Prime Minister Theresa May said the incident was being treated as a terrorist attack, making it the deadliest militant assault in Britain since four British Muslims killed 52 people in suicide bombings on London's transport system in July 2005. Police said the attacker died after detonating explosives shortly after 10:33 pm (2133 GMT) at Manchester Arena, which has the capacity to hold 21,000 people. Children were among the dead, police said. "We believe, at this stage, the attack last night was conducted by one man," Manchester Chief Constable Ian Hopkins told reporters. "The priority is to establish whether he was acting alone or as part of a network. "The attacker... died at the arena. We believe the attacker was carrying an improvised explosive device which he detonated causing this atrocity." A witness who attended the concert said she felt a huge blast as she was leaving the arena, followed by screaming and a rush by thousands of people trying to escape the building. A video posted on Twitter showed fans, many of them young, screaming and running from the venue. Dozens of parents frantically searched for their children, posting photos and pleading for information on social media. "We were making our way out and when we were right by the door there was a massive explosion and everybody was screaming," concert-goer Catherine Macfarlane told Reuters. "It was a huge explosion - you could feel it in your chest. It was chaotic. Everybody was running and screaming and just trying to get out." Ariana Grande, 23, later said on Twitter: "broken. from the bottom of my heart, i am so so sorry. i don't have words." May, who faces an election in two-and-a-half weeks, said her thoughts were with the victims and their families. She and Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of the opposition Labour Party, agreed to suspend campaigning ahead of the June 8 election. "We are working to establish the full details of what is being treated by the police as an appalling terrorist attack," May said in a statement. "All our thoughts are with the victims and the families of those who have been affected." May is due to hold a crisis response meeting. Chinese President Xi Jinping sent his condolences over the blast to Britain's Queen Elizabeth, Chinese state media reported. French President Emmanuel Macron voiced his "horror" at the attack and plans to speak to British Prime Minister Theresa May. Macron "learnt with horror and shock about the attack that occurred yesterday evening," his office said in a statement. French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe condemned the attack as "the most cowardly terrorism" that was aimed "specifically and knowingly" at young people. German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday expressed her "sorrow and horror" over the bomb attack in Manchester, vowing that Germany will stand by Britain in the fight against terror. "This suspected terrorist attack will only strengthen our resolve to work with our British friends against those who plan and execute such inhuman acts. I assure the people in Britain: Germany stands by your side," she said in a statement.
